The lake district, Bariloche

Bariloche is a small city in the beautiful Argentine lake district. Unfortunately it's also the setting for my bad luck week.

The view from the bus to Bariloche

First, I missed my bus connection. Having waited at the terminal for 3 hours I went to catch my next 28hr bus only to find it had left 30 minutes ago. Cue mad (and expensive) taxi ride to catch it up. I'll never forget the taxi driver pulling over a national bus on an Argentine highway for me to jump on, looking extremely embarrassed.

On my first day I went on a cable car ride and short hike to a beautiful mirador where my camera promptly broke. Lens error. Resorted to camera phone until I worked out how to fix it. But over the next couple of days I did some nice hikes and saw some beautiful lake vistas. Things were looking up.

Stunning views around Bariloche

On my last evening I decided to go for a good meal in the centre of town. A bus and four restaurants later I finally found one that wasn't unexpectedly closed or too full. The food was good, but not great. I finished my meal and took a taxi back to the hostel where I swiftly discovered my mobile phone had gone.

Needless to say I never got it back. After changing my bus ticket to Chile for a day later to give me time to get a police report, I finally left Bariloche feeling pretty down and ready to come home for the first time.